Dear Sir or Madam,

The National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) is a study of people’s eating habits which has taken place across the UK every year since 2008. This study is important because it provides the information needed to understand how the nation’s diet is changing. This will help the Government to improve public health and protect food safety in future.

NDNS is being carried out by NatCen Social Research, and the Medical Research Council Human Nutrition Research Unit (HNR). NDNS is funded by Public Health England (PHE) (an Executive Agency of the Department of Health) and the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

Your address has been specifically chosen by random selection to be part of NDNS. We really hope your household will take part.

One of our interviewers will visit you and ask up to two people to take part - one aged 19 years and over and another aged 18 months to 18 years. The interviewer will show you their photo ID. We will offer each person we interview a £30 gift card and personalised dietary feedback as a thank you.

Your personal details will be kept strictly confidential and no one looking at the study findings will be able to identify you or your household in any way.

For more information please read the FAQs on the back of this letter, and the enclosed leaflet. You can also visit: www.nationaldiet.co.uk or call freephone 0800 652 4572.

We hope you will be willing to take part – with your help we can gain a better understanding of the diet and nutrition of the nation.

Yours,

Gillian Swan Health and Wellbeing Directorate Public Health England gillian.swan@phe.gov.uk

Beverley Bates NDNS Research Director NatCen ndns@natcen.ac.uk We will treat any information you give in strict confidence under the 1998 Data Protection Act. The information collected is used for statistical and research purposes only, and the published report will never include any names or addresses.

We chose your address at random from the Postcode Address File. This file is held by the Post Office and is available to the public.

PHE and FSA have asked NatCen and HNR to carry out this study. For more information on each organisation visit www.natcen.ac.uk and www.mrc-hnr.cam.ac.uk.

You don’t have to take part but with your help we can learn about a wider range of people to get a true picture of the eating habits and health status of people in the UK.

If you take part, the interviewer will ask you some questions and will give you a diary to record what you eat and drink. The information leaflet with this letter tells you more about the interview stage. The second part of the survey, if you agree, is a visit by a qualified nurse.

See the enclosed leaflet or visit: www.nationaldiet.co.uk or freephone 0800 652 4572. Do I have to take part? No. You can choose to take part in some parts of the survey but not others and you are free to withdraw from any part of the study at any time.

Do I get anything for taking part? You will receive a £30 gift card and offered personalised dietary feedback if you complete a food diary. The feedback will tell you how what you eat compares with national recommendations. In addition, if you wish, you may have a record of your measurements. And you will also receive a £5 gift card if you provide a urine sample.

What if I have any other questions? Thank you for taking an interest in this important national study. If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact us:

Beverley Bates NDNS Research Director NatCen Social Research Kings House 101-135 Kings Road Brentwood Essex CM14 4LX

Freephone: 0800 652 4572 Email: ndns@natcen.ac.uk www.nationaldiet.co.uk

For more info have a look at www.nationaldiet.co.uk Who are we? The National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) is a national study aiming to find out about the eating habits of people in the UK. The study is being carried out by NatCen Social Research and the Medical Research Council Human Nutrition Research Unit (HNR). The study is funded by Public Health England and the Food Standards Agency.

How does it work? Individuals selected to take part will be asked to do an interview carried out by one of our trained interviewers. This is to collect information on general eating habits and health, and some basic information about you, your lifestyle and your household. The interviewer will also measure your height and weight, if you agree.

The interviewer will give you a diary to record what you eat and drink over four days. They will arrange to visit you again to collect the diary and ask a few more questions. Everyone who completes this part of the survey will be given a £30 gift card and offered personalised dietary feedback as a thank you. Your interviewer will also ask if you are willing to provide a urine sample. Everyone who agrees to provide a sample will be given a £5 gift card as a thank you.

After the interview there may be opportunity to take part in further stages of the survey. We will give you more information about this later.

What’s the survey about? Over the past twenty years or so there has been an increase in the range of food available. For many people, this has meant changes in the kinds of food they eat and their eating habits.

Each year over 1300 people take part. With your help we can learn from a wider range of people to get a true picture of the eating habits and health status of everyone in the UK. This will help the Government to improve public health and protect food safety in future.

Why have you chosen my address? We select a sample of addresses across the UK in such a way that all addresses have a chance of being selected. You will represent thousands of other people in the UK. The addresses were taken from the Postcode Address File, a list compiled by the Post Office.

Some people think that they are not typical or are too different from other people to be of any help. We need to represent everyone in our survey. The results will present a more accurate picture if everyone we approach agrees to take part, and we hope you will help us.

Is the survey confidential? Yes. We take very great care to protect the confidentiality of the information we are given. The survey results will not be in a form which can reveal your identity. Your answers will only be used for research purposes. You may be contacted again at a later date about your answers for further research, but only if you have given permission to do so.

If you agree, your name, address and date of birth, but no other information, will be passed to the National Health Service Central Register and Cancer Registry.

For more info have a look at www.nationaldiet.co.uk National Diet and Nutrition Survey Measurement Record Card

SN: ........................................................................................................

NAME: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

HEIGHT: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ cm

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ ft/ins

WEIGHT: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ kg

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ st/lbs

BMI: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

For adults, height and weight information can be used to calculate Body Mass Index (BMI). Further information on this calculation and guidance on BMI can be found in the accompanying leaflet or on this website:

www.nhs.uk/livewell/loseweight/pages/bodymassindex.aspx Thank you for your interest and time. Your contribution is very valuable to NDNS. We hope that you will help us with this next part of this important study!

Any questions?

Our nurse will try to answer any questions you have.

Or, if you like you can email or speak to one of us using the contact details below:

Beverley Bates NDNS Research Director Freephone: 0800 652 4572 Email: ndns@natcen.ac.uk

www.nationaldiet.co.uk The second part - a nurse visit

Thank you for telling us about what you eat and answering our questions so far. Because of your help, we’ll be able to understand the diet and nutrition of people living in the UK a lot better. We would now like to invite you to take part in the second stage of the study.

Stage 2 is a visit by a registered nurse who will contact you in a couple of months. As a thank you for agreeing to see the nurse, we will send you a £5 gift card to spend.

Information collected at the nurse stage is really important. It adds to the details you have already provided in your food diary. This completes the picture of how diet affects people’s nutrition and health.

When the nurse visits, they will ask you a few questions about your health and explain a bit more about the other parts of the nurse visit, which are:

**Measurements:**

The nurse will ask if you are willing to have your waist & hip measurements taken. This is done using a tape measure when fully clothed.

**Why?**

Because waist & hip measurements tell us about the distribution of weight over your body.

**Blood pressure:**

The nurse will ask if you are willing to have your blood pressure taken, using an inflatable cuff that goes around the upper arm.

**Why?**

This will measure how hard your heart is pumping blood around your body. Blood pressure is important because the higher your blood pressure is, the higher your risk of health problems in the future.

**A small blood sample:**

The nurse will ask if you are willing to provide a small blood sample.

**Why?**

Blood can tell us very important things about nutritional health, and about the ways in which our body benefits from the food we eat. If you are interested, we will also send you the results of some of the tests. As a token of our appreciation, you will receive a £20 gift card for providing a blood sample.

**Do I have to take part?**

No. At this time you are only agreeing for a nurse to contact you in two to four months.

Your nurse will give you more information and explain the different measurements in more detail when she/he visits. All parts of the nurse visit are optional. If you don’t want to do one of the measurements then just tell the nurse.

As with the interviewer stage, we take great care to protect the confidentiality of all information and samples collected.

For more info have a look at www.nationaldiet.co.uk How will my sample be stored?

With your consent we will store your anonymised urine sample so that it may be used for future testing of other analytes that are useful for assessing the health of the population. All the information you give us will be kept securely and confidentially. We will use a unique ID code so that your personal information will not be stored with your urine sample.

Will I get anything for taking part?

As a token of our appreciation you will receive a £5 gift card.

If you have any other questions, please get in touch:

Beverley Bates NDNS Research Director NatCen Social Research, Kings House, 101-135 Kings Road, Brentwood, Essex, CM14 4LX

Freephone: 0800 652 4572 Email: ndns@natcen.ac.uk

For more info have a look at www.nationaldiet.co.uk How to give a spot urine sample

**STEP 1** We don’t want a sample of your first urine of the day but any after that is fine.

**STEP 2** When you take the lid off the container, don’t touch the inside. This is because you may have some iodine on your fingers from soap and we only want to measure the iodine inside your urine.

**STEP 3** Pass a small amount of urine directly into the container; you do not need to fill it completely, as little as a teaspoon is enough. Replace the lid and make sure that it is screwed on tightly.

**STEP 4** Wipe the outside of the container dry using a piece of ordinary toilet paper or a tissue. Do not use wet wipes or any other cleaning product as this could contaminate the sample.

**Why are you testing for Iodine?** Iodine is important for being healthy. It is used by the body to make thyroid hormones. The best way to find out how much iodine people have in their bodies is through analysis of urine.

**How many urine samples do you need?** Only one. You will be given a pot to collect it in - very similar to what a doctor would give you if they needed a urine sample.

**Do I have to provide a urine sample?** No. You do not have to provide a urine sample if you do not want to.

**What will happen to my urine sample?** It will be sent to a laboratory and analysed for iodine content. Your name and address will not be attached to the sample - it will remain anonymous. Your sample will not be tested for drugs or viruses for this study.